Drain strainers may be found in virtually any environment where food and beverages are served. Many passenger vehicles, for example, aircraft, trains, and ships, are equipped to serve food and beverages to the passengers. To facilitate such services, the vehicle may be equipped with a galley in which the food and beverages are handled. The galley may be equipped with a catch basin to allow convenient disposal of waste fluids. An important consideration in the operation of such food and beverage services is the continued operation and successful maintenance of the plumbing associated with the catch basin. Thus, the plumbing may be equipped with a removable drain strainer that strains debris and particulates from the waste fluids, thereby preventing clogs and other associated plumbing problems.
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a galley assembly 10 in accordance with the prior art. The galley assembly 10 includes a support structure 12 with a counter surface 14 having a catch basin (or sink) 16 disposed therein. The catch basin 16 is coupled to a first conduit 18 that passes through a support wall 20 of the support structure 12. A drain strainer assembly 30 is attached to the support wall 20 and is fluidly coupled to the first conduit 18. A second conduit 22 is fluidly coupled to the drain strainer assembly 30 and leads away from the drain strainer assembly 30 to, for example, a holding tank (not shown).
FIG. 2 is an enlarged, top elevational view of the prior art drain strainer assembly 30 of FIG. 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the drain strainer assembly 30 includes a housing 32 coupled to the support wall 20 by a plurality of threaded fasteners 34. Each threaded fastener 34 passes through a flange portion 36 of the housing 32 and threadedly engages a threaded insert nut (or threaded hole) 38 disposed in the support wall 20, thereby securing the housing 32 to the support wall 20. A strainer member (or basket) 40 is removeably inserted into the housing 32. An opening 42 is disposed in the support wall 20, thereby allowing access to the drain strainer assembly 30 by removal of an access panel 44. As shown in FIG. 2, the access panel 44 is attached to the support wall 20 by screws 45 that engage insert nuts 47 located within the support wall 20.
In operation, waste liquids dumped into the catch basin 16 flow through the first conduit 18 and pass through the strainer member 40 of the drain strainer assembly 30, where the strainer member 40 captures relatively large debris and particulate matter from the waste fluid. The resulting strained fluid then passes out of the drain strainer assembly 30 through the second conduit 22. Drain strainer assemblies 30 of the type shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are widely-known and commercially-available, including, for example, the drain strainer assemblies designated as part number MOD50338 available from Modem Manufacturing, Inc. of Renton, Wash. For cleaning and maintenance of the drain strainer assembly 30, the strainer member 40 may be withdrawn from the housing 32 by pulling the strainer member 40 in a lateral direction indicated by an arrow 46, and then withdrawing the strainer member 40 through the opening 42. A drip pan 48 is attached to the support wall 20 beneath the opening 42 to catch waste fluid or debris that may fall from the strainer member 40 during the removal operation.
Desirable results have been achieved using the prior art galley assembly 10. However, improvements may be possible. For example, the installation of the drain strainer assembly 30 in the prior art galley assembly 10 involves a substantial number of components, including the drain strainer assembly 30, the threaded fasteners 34, the insert nuts 38, the drip pan 48 and its associated fasteners and insert nuts, and the access panel 44 and its associated screws 45 and insert nuts 47. In addition, the drip pan 48 may be coupled to additional components to facilitate removal of any waste fluid caught therein. Therefore, it may be desireable to reduce the number of components associated with the installation of the drain strainer assembly 30.
Furthermore, because the cleaning and maintenance of the drain strainer assembly 30 requires removal of the access panel 44, and the withdrawal of the strainer member 40 from the housing 32 in the lateral direction 46, it may also be desirable to simplify the procedures involved in cleaning and maintaining the drain strainer assembly 30.